


The End of an Era

by mggislife2789



Category: Criminal Minds, Spencer Reid - Fandom
Genre: Adoption, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-26 03:58:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9861482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mggislife2789/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)





	

Was he really going to do this? Was he about to make a decision that would change the course of the rest of his life? What about this little girl made him question his current situation? 

Little Grace’s parents had been murdered in their home three days earlier. When the local authorities arrived to the house, they found William and Anne in pools of their own blood, but Grace was sound asleep in her crib. Both parents were only children. All of the grandparents were long gone and the young parents only had their child. So with them gone, Grace was completely and totally alone. She was going to go into the system…unless he adopted her. 

Spencer was nearly 40 years old. He’d always wanted children, but his life didn’t seem to be heading in that direction. At least in the traditional direction. But who said he had to be traditional? With some changes to his life, he could be a single father - and the more he thought about it, the more he wanted that for his life. He wanted to be there for this little baby when no one else could. He wanted more than anything to keep her out of foster care. Granted, foster homes weren’t all bad, but given his line of work, he’d come into contact with some awful foster homes and he feared she’d be put into one. What was it about this baby that he connected with? Was it that they were both only children? Was it that they were both alone, or essentially alone in Spencer’s case? Could it be as simple as the fact that they’d found out the baby’s middle name was Diana? 

He didn’t know. 

What he did know, was that the past few days he had been figuring out what he wanted for his life. He wanted kids; that he knew without a shadow of a doubt. One day, he also hoped to have a wife, but one didn’t necessarily need to come before the other. However, some things would need to change. For one, it would be hard enough to adopt a child as a single parents, no less a single dad, but as a single father with the job he had? It wouldn’t work. For years, he’d had offers to teach at universities, but he’d always stayed because he loved his work at the Bureau. 

At this point in his life, he’d worked as a profiler for 15 years…and he was pretty sure he wanted a change. 

He was going to do it. 

At least he was going to try. When he dropped her off in foster care three days ago, he’d asked about adoption and what it would take, because he’d immediately had that thought. Besides an amazing amount of paperwork, they didn’t have a problem adopting a child out to a single parent as long as their background check and finances were in order. 

Over the next few days, Spencer called around to the universities that had offered him jobs in the past, asking if they were still interested in his expertise. When they asked what was causing his change in careers, he told them the truth. His work with the FBI was emotionally-draining and he wanted to adopt a child, which required more of his time than the Bureau could allow. Two of the local universities were thrilled, asking for him to teach 2 classes each and the adoption agency that the foster home dealt with started the necessary paperwork. Now his biggest obstacle was resigning from the BAU and telling his friends of his new plans.

As he walked into the office, he took a deep breath. He never imagined this day would come in this way. “Reid,” Hotch said, looking up from his desk. “There something wrong?”

Spencer sat down across from him, sweating with nervousness. “Nothing wrong exactly,” he started. With a clarity he hadn’t felt in days, he spoke. “I’m going to be resigning from the BAU.”

A small, knowing smile formed on Hotch’s face. “It’s Grace, isn’t it? You want to adopt her?” Of course Hotch knew; he knew everything.

“I do,” he replied softly. “I never thought this was the way my life would go, but I’m tired. This job has taken its toll on me and I want to do right by Grace. The thing is, I know I can’t do that with the schedule I have here.”

Without a protest of any kind, Hotch extended his hand toward Reid. “You’re going to be a great father, Reid. And we will all still be here for you.”

“I know, Hotch…” He hadn’t expected to be as emotional as he was, but he couldn’t stop the tears from falling. “Now to tell everyone else.”

Hotch laughed under his breath. “I’m sure it’ll be hard for everyone, but once they know the reason, I think they’re all going to agree that this is the best decision you could’ve possibly made. For the record, you will be sorely missed here. You’ve made a mark on the BAU and the Bureau that will be hard to replicate. And if we need someone to run some profiling seminars…?”

“Then I will absolutely be here. Gladly,” he replied. “Thanks, Hotch.”

——

After a few days, he had officially requested to adopt Grace and had officially accepted part-time positions at American University and Georgetown. Unbeknownst to everyone but Hotch, this coming Friday would be his last day. Since they didn’t have another case, he decided to gather everyone in the conference room to tell them privately. 

“What’s happening?” Garcia asked. “We don’t have another case do we?”

“No,” Spencer started. “I actually have an announcement to make.” He hesitated, which only caused immense anxiety in the rest of the team. “I’ve been thinking a lot the past couple of weeks about what I want for my life and although not working here every day will be one of the hardest adjustments I’ll ever make, I’ve resigned.”

“What?” A chorus of questions came from every member of the team. Tears were flowing. No one understood. It seemed so sudden. But in Spencer’s mind, it had been a long time coming. “Why? Is something wrong?” Emily asked. 

Spencer gathered Garcia, who was sobbing, into his arms for a hug. “Nothing is wrong. I’ve just been thinking a lot about my life lately and I want something else now. I’m going to be…adopting Grace.”

“Really?” JJ asked. “That’s amazing! Congratulations!” Everyone knew what an amazing father he’d make if given the chance. This was his chance. “We’re going to miss having you here, but…that’s amazing.”

“Congrats, kid,” Morgan said, slapping Spencer on the shoulder. “She’s a lucky baby.”

While the tears continued to flow, Spencer hugged every member of his team , probably for a lot longer than was necessary. But this place, this job, these people (in this capacity) had been a huge part of his life, and that was all changing. “When are you picking her up?” Rossi asked. “When you get settled, we all need to get together at my place.”

“Absolutely,” he replied, thankful for such amazing aunts and uncles for his new addition. “I pick her up in two weeks. I’m having them rush the paperwork.”

Everybody took a seat at the table as they talked about Spencer’s new life and new jobs. They all promised that no matter what, they would still remain as close as they were now. After all, Grace had to get to know all of her aunts and uncles. “Thanks,” he said once the conversation had died down. “For not making this a harder decision than it already is. I just feel like this is the right move for me.”

“I think so too,” JJ said, standing up behind him and wrapping her arms around his neck, “And we’ll always be here. No matter what.”


End file.
